#6 Men's Wrestling 2/22/2020 11:14:00 PM

Stars secure SAC championship

OCU boasts of six SAC individual champions, eight national qualifiers

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. – Oklahoma City University collected the Sooner Athletic Conference wrestling championship Saturday in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference-SAC Championships at Mueller Sports Center.
Six OCU wrestlers became individual SAC champions with eight Stars grabbing spots in the NAIA Championships. Oklahoma City, ranked 11th, piled up 225 points to win the tournament title.
The six Stars who became conference champions were Montana Moon at 125 pounds, Austin Loza at 149, Jon McGowan at 157, Chase Vincent at 174, 197-pounder Easton Rendleman and Gage Johnson at 285. Drake Foster placed third at 133, while Jaxen Gilmore picked up fourth at 141 to secure national-tournament berths. The NAIA Championships take place March 6-7 in Park City, Kan.
Oklahoma City's Sam Hazewinkel and Indiana Tech's Thomas Pompei became SAC co-coaches of the year.
"I am incredibly proud of the men who made a goal at the beginning of the year to be conference champs," Hazewinkel said. "Today they got to see that goal fulfilled. We did a lot of things right, and there's a lot to be proud about. What really stands out to me was the heart the guys showed today."
Loza nabbed the tournament outstanding wrestler. Loza, a sophomore from Enid, Okla., seized the 149-pound conference championship by pinning Zane Corey of Cleary (Mich.) in 20 seconds. Loza reached the championship final after collecting a fall over Kyle Borthwell of Indiana Tech in 2:23. Loza improved to 15-4 on the season with four wins in the tournament.
Vincent became the only repeat champion among the individual champs. Vincent, a junior from Yukon, Okla., won 12-6 over Tyler Blagg from Cleary for his second consecutive 174-pound title. Vincent, ranked third at 174 nationally, moved to 19-4 this season.
McGowan, a sophomore from Hulbert, Okla., pinned Gabriel McDuffie of Ottawa (Kan.) in 3:18 for the 157-pound title. Rendleman, a sophomore from Choctaw, Okla., edged Avery Jaramillo of Saint Mary 3-2 to become 197-pound champion.
Indiana Tech, ranked 19th, became team runner-up with 203.5 points, while Saint Mary (Kan.) picked up third place with 147 points to top the KCAC. Three SAC teams placed among the top four as Lourdes (Ohio) with 133 points was fourth. Pompei has won or shared the SAC coach of the year award for three years in a row.
Nick Henneman from Lourdes garnered SAC wrestler of the year. Henneman, a sophomore from Oregon, Ohio, captured the 141-pound SAC championship 5-4 over Kyle Kantola of Indiana Tech. Henneman, ranked second in the NAIA at his weight, went 4-0 with two pins over the weekend to move to 19-1 this season.
Indiana Tech's A.J. Fowler racked up the most falls among the SAC individuals in the tournament with three.

Sooner Athletic Conference Championships
At Bartlesville, Okla.
Mueller Sports Center
Team Scoring
1. Oklahoma City, 225; 2. Indiana Tech, 203.5; 3. Saint Mary (Kan.), 147; 4. Lourdes (Ohio), 133; 5. Ottawa (Kan.), 120.5; 6. York (Neb.), 78.5; 7. Cleary (Mich.), 68.5; 8. Texas Wesleyan, 60; 9. Wayland Baptist (Texas), 45.5; 10. Rochester (Mich.), 42.5; 11. Bethany (Kan.), 35; 12. Central Christian (Kan.), 25; 13. Oklahoma Wesleyan, 23.5.
Championship Finals
125: Montana Moon, OCU, dec. Ray Porter, Lourdes, 5-2
133: Conner Gimson, Ind. Tech, by forfeit over Matt Gimson, Ind. Tech
141: Nick Henneman, Lourdes, dec. Kyle Kantola, Ind. Tech, 5-4
149: Austin Loza, OCU, pinned Zane Corey, Cleary, 0:20
157: Jon McGowan, OCU, pinned Gabriel McDuffie, Ottawa, 3:18
165: Dracius McKee, TXWES, dec. Jerrod Mullins, Rochester, 10-8
174: Chase Vincent, OCU, dec. Tyler Blagg, Cleary, 12-6
184: Riley Jaramillo, Saint Mary, dec. Eric Vermillion, Ind. Tech, 8-4
197: Easton Rendleman, OCU, dec. Avery Jaramillo, Saint Mary, 3-2
285: Gage Johnson, OCU, dec. Vernon Willis, Ind. Tech, 6-1
Challenge Matches for True Second
125: Ray Porter, Lourdes, dec. Harley Williamson, York, 10-8
149: Zane Corey, Cleary, pinned Gabe Blough, Saint Mary, 0:44
184: Eric Vermillion, Ind. Tech, tech. fall Hunter McCarty, WBU, 20-5 (6:57)
285: Vernon Willis, Ind. Tech, dec. Lexington Plummer, Ottawa, 4-3
Sooner Athletic Conference Awards
Wrestler of the year: Nick Henneman, Lourdes
Tournament outstanding wrestler: Austin Loza, Oklahoma City
Freshman of the year: Kyle Kantola, Indiana Tech
Newcomer of the year: Tyler Blagg, Cleary
Co-coaches of the year: Sam Hazewinkel, Oklahoma City; Thomas Pompei, Indiana Tech
Most falls, tournament: A.J. Fowler, Indiana Tech, three
NAIA Championships Qualifiers
125
1. Montana Moon, OCU; 2. Ray Porter, Lourdes; 3. x-Harley Williamson, York.
133
1. Conner Gimson, Ind. Tech; 2. Matt Gimson, Ind. Tech; 3. Drake Foster, OCU; 4. Pierce Mederios, York; 5. Kobe Nelms, TXWES.
141
1. Nick Henneman, Lourdes; 2. Kyle Kantola, Ind. Tech; 3. John Fox, York; 4. Jaxen Gilmore, OCU.
149
1. Austin Loza, OCU; 2. Zane Corey, Cleary.
157
1. Jon McGowan, OCU; 2. Gabriel McDuffie, Ottawa; 3. Patrick Boulanger, Saint Mary.
165
1. Dracius McKee, TXWES; 2. x-Jerrod Mullins, Rochester.
174
1. Chase Vincent, OCU; 2. Tyler Blagg, Cleary; 3. Scott Sopko, Ind. Tech.
184
1. Riley Jaramillo, Saint Mary; 2. Eric Vermillion, Ind. Tech.
197
1. Easton Rendleman, OCU; 2. Avery Jaramillo, Saint Mary; 3. Joshua Wilson, Bethany.
285
1. Gage Johnson, OCU; 2. Vernon Willis, Ind. Tech; 3. x-Lexington Plummer, Ottawa.
x-wild-card qualifiers

Print Friendly Version